launched. but it's lew wasserman. c-span: who's jules stein? >> guest: jules stein started the music corporation of america, a band-booking agency, in chicago in 1924, in al capone's chicago. and it was from that company that, eventually, wasserman was launched. c-span: because this is a political network, the first thing i want to connect is that katrina vanden heuvel is his granddaughter. >> guest: is jules stein's granddaughter, yes. c-span: and he's with "the nation," and the editor and all that. >> guest: right. c-span: was jules stein -- was a republican. >> guest: a right-wing republican. c-span: well, explain all that connection in the -- and how does -- you know, where does the vanden heuvel come in in all this? >> guest: well, jules had two daughters, jean and susan. and jean is the mother of -- jean stein is the mother of katrina. and jean was always -- her politics were always different than her father's, and it was a source of great friction between then.

and -- i mean, jules was very proud of her. she was a very accomplished person. but -- but their politics were just polar opposites, really. and katrina followed in her mother's footsteps. c-span: what was it that jules stein started in mca? what did they do? >> guest: it was a band-booking agency in chicago, in the days when chicago was controlled by al capone. and stein basically turned the -- he turned the one -- he turned the band-booking business into a business. it had never really been a business before. bands were usually booked for one-night stands, and stein came up with the idea that if they traveled, then they would need an agent to arrange all these travels. and so it was a simple idea, but quite brilliant. and he put it into effect, and within -- within less than 10 years, he controlled 90 percent

of the bands in america. he then decided that bands were actually going to -- dance bands were on the decline, although you couldn't see it yet in the figures. but he saw that it wasn't going to be a thriving business for too much longer. and so he decided to move mca, music corporation of america, which now he called mca, to hollywood and move into the talent agency business, booking stars for movies. and so he did that in 1936, and really, that's where -- that's where wasserman's story begins. c-span: now, here's a picture of lew wasserman, i think, in 1958. who was he? >> guest: lew wasserman was a really poor kid from cleveland who had to work through from junior high school on as an usher in movie theaters. and he then was a publicist for nightclubs in cleveland. he wanted to go to college. he couldn't afford to. he was a publicist for nightclubs, and as a publicist,

he would get some advertising -- advertising circulars from the music corporation of america. and he didn't think they were very good, so he would redo them for his nightclubs. his nightclubs would be booking mca's bands. and jules stein's brother, bill, heard about this guy, lew, who never thought their advertising was good enough, and he got to meet him. and he brought him to chicago eventually to meet jules stein. he was 23 at the time. c-span: why did you get interested in these two characters? >> guest: i got interested, really, in wasserman because i interviewed him in '91, when mca was sold to matsushita. i did a long piece for "the new yorker" about that transaction and the personalities involved in it. and at that time, i came to realize that wasserman was a fascinating figure and immensely powerful.

for around 50 years, he was clearly the most powerful man in hollywood. he influenced virtually everything that happened in that community. and it went beyond hollywood because it was -- since he wanted to control that world, it meant that he had to be able to control labor situations. he had to have a strong influence in national politics. he had to have kind of a liaison with the mob. so it was a way of telling, through one person, a much larger story that reached into all these areas. and i thought it would be really fascinating, and i didn't really know another -- i always have wanted to tell a much larger story through an individual, and i couldn't think of any other individual through whom i could tell a story of this scope. and also -- i mean, the fact that the arc went from -- for

wasserman, from the '30s until just when he died a year ago. c-span: jules stein lived for how long? and when did he die? >> guest: he lived to be 85. he died in 1981. c-span: there's a picture, the only one that i could find in the book, on page 199, of sidney korshak. who was he? >> guest: sidney korshak was the chicago mob's man in hollywood. he started out in life, in his professional life, as a lawyer -- it's pretty clear, as a lawyer for capone. that's what he told friends of his, in any event. and he got involved with the chicago outfit at that time. this is about 1931 or so. and he then went on eventually to move to hollywood, where he was the mob's man. and he had enormous influence on labor unions, the teamsters especially. so for wasserman, it was -- it was a relationship that mirrored

the one stein had established earlier. in chicago, stein had had a relationship with petrillo, who was the head of the musicians' union, and also connected to al capone. and then wasserman in hollywood had korshak, who, among many other things, enabled him to have great relationships with the teamsters. c-span: on the back of your book, this quote on lew wasserman. "he helped me become president. he helped me stay president. he helped me be a better president -- bill clinton. >> guest: well, wasserman decided that he wanted hollywood to be a more potent political force than it had ever been before. he, in part, came to that decision because in 1962, the justice department, bobby kennedy's justice department, brought an anti-trust action against mca, which -- the settlement of which caused them to go out of the talent agency business and only be in the

production business. and while wasserman actually didn't mind that -- it kind of suited his -- what he -- what he wanted to do -- still, he didn't like being forced to do it, as he was. and he decided that he never wanted to be in a position where the government could have that kind of impact on him again, or he wanted to try not to be in such a position. so he decided to make hollywood a really potent force in washington, and he built a fund-raising machine such as had not existed in hollywood before. and he became -- he became really -- he was somebody who could call any president on the phone. his relationship -- he began by raising money for jfk, but he wasn't -- he was never close to jfk. but then with johnson, he found somebody whom he really admired enormously and felt close to. and after that, it continued. i mean, nixon he wasn't so close to, but there was a republican at mca who had the relationship with nixon.

and then reagan -- well, wasserman had been his agent back starting in 1939, so they had a relationship over decades of great reciprocity. and clinton wasserman was crazy about. i remember he said to me, you know, don't get me started on bill clinton. i'll sound like a lovesick teenager. c-span: connect the connie bruck dots for me. you have been in new york. you're married to a former congressman who was here in washington for a while, but you live in los angeles. when did all -- explain all that. where did you start in -- professionally? >> guest: well, i've always, in my adult life, lived in new york. my professional life, i've lived there, basically, forever -- in california briefly when i was really young, but then new york. i started out as a reporter at the "american lawyer" magazine. and then i wrote a book about michael milken, called "the predators' ball, and with that, bob gottlieb hired me at "the new yorker" to be their business writer. c-span: by the way, the "predators' ball" came out what year?

>> guest: i think it was 1988. and i really -- i didn't know too much about business. i mean, i knew what i wrote about milken, but i wasn't really a business writer, per se. but gottlieb thought that i was, based on that book. he didn't know much about business, either. and so he brought me in as "the new yorker's" business writer. and then when tina brown came in, she freed me to write about other subjects, as well. i wrote about politics more under tina. c-span: but you've written major pieces on hillary clinton and newt gingrich, a book on steve ross, who was head of warner. >> guest: right. c-span: and in what years were all those done? >> guest: well, the book on ross, i guess -- i mean, that was "master of the game," which came out in 1994. and i had written pieces about time warner at "the new yorker. that was how i got interested in ross. and at the same time -- and then in the early '90s, i wrote the piece about hillary and then about gingrich. and then after that, i wrote

about the middle east. so tina was the one who let me sort of just have a broader ambit. c-span: when did you marry congressman -- is it mel levine? >> guest: it's mel levine. c-span: levine. >> guest: just two years ago. and -- but i had been living in california with him more or less sort of the last five years. so -- and it was in that period of time that i was working on this book. c-span: the mob, the gangsters, all that, it pops up in your book all the way through this. any evidence that any of these people, like lew wasserman or jules stein or any of the people at mca, were ever part of the mob in any way? >> guest: i wouldn't say part of the mob. i mean, i think that they lived in a time when -- well, certainly, jules lived in a time when in order to be in the business he was in, he really had to have good relations with the mob. and he was -- i mean, it was more than that. he was -- he was their partner. i was fortunate to meet judge

maravitz, abraham lincoln maravitz, in chicago, who had been -- who was a live and active in that time, the same period as jules. and he knew jules. he knew capone. he knew petrillo, who was the head of the musicians union. and it was he who told me that jules had had an interest in the chez paris, which was a nightclub run by the mob. and so jules was partners with the mob. but as i say, at that time, i don't think he -- he couldn't have been as successful in the business he was in, and maybe he couldn't even have been in the business he was in if he didn't have these relationships. for wasserman, i don't know whether he had to, but it was certainly uniquely useful to have the relationship with sidney korshak, who, as i said, helped him in his relationship with the unions. and the unions are totally key to the movie business. and he also was a kind of all-around fixer in hollywood. c-span: why are the unions key to the movie business? >> guest: well, because they can kill it.

if you -- you know, if you have a strike and -- and you have a movie and the -- they just stop the business. and also, in the tv business, which was wasserman -- what he moved into -- even before he got into the movie business, he was in tv production. he was even more dependent on the unions because of the short lead time. i mean, they could be even more destructive. so he -- and wasserman -- he understood that. he had come into the business at a time when relations between the studio heads and the unions were terrible. there were horrible strikes in the mid-'30s, and then -- and then a very bad strike in 1946. so he fully appreciated what bad labor relations could do to him, as a studio head. and he went about making sure every way he could that he would have labor peace. c-span: how much evidence was there that the mob was involved in the teamsters union? >> guest: well, it was pretty

clear because the teamsters union from the '50s on was headed by jimmy hoffa, and he was definitely -- i mean, it's been established that he was closely related -- was controlled by the mob, really. and sidney korshak, who was the chicago mob's guy, was very close to jimmy hoffa. so there wasn't any question, really, that the mob controlled the teamsters in that period of time. c-span: what was the -- what is the mob? >> guest: well, the mob was an organization that -- i mean, it had different parts. there -- i mean, the part that i concentrated on in this book was the chicago mob because that was where jules stein started and that was where his relationships were. and then it was -- it was the chicago mob that sent korshak to hollywood. and also earlier, bioff and brown, they had -- they were sent from the chicago mob. and basically, it was a scheme in the '30s to try to take over or have a large interest in the studios.

so the chicago mob was one distinct entity. and then there were the new york families. but those didn't have so much to do with the story that i tell. c-span: politics -- jumping to chapter three, which is "political might. before i show a picture here -- mca had universal studios, which made what kind of movies? what are the big movies that they make? >> guest: "jaws," "et," "back to the future. those are spielberg -- i mean, spielberg was by far their greatest director, and really, the driving force of their movie business, i would say. c-span: but you go back to 1960. you say that lew wasserman really didn't like jack kennedy that much. >> guest: right. c-span: how much was that due to the fact that his brother, bobby, was an investigator in congress with the mob? >> guest: it was due, i think, to a considerable degree because bobby kennedy was going after

-- he was very focused on las vegas. and vegas was a place where mca did a lot of business and where wasserman had personal relationships, as well -- mo dailes, wasserman had known from cleveland. he was very close to him. and mo dailes was really the -- he was called the "godfather of las vegas. he had the desert inn. so -- and dailes was on bobby kennedy's top 40 hoodlums list. i mean, dailes hated kennedy. so i think that it -- i think it's true that wasserman didn't like the kennedys because -- in part, at least, because bobby kennedy was going after people like dailes, and also sidney korshak. c-span: there's a picture at the beginning of this chapter three, and at our back is lyndon johnson. it looks like the dining room on the first floor of the white house. you've got on the left there lew wasserman, arthur krim, bob benjamin, lots of other names, and at the very far end, tom johnson, who was the deputy press secretary at the time. why this picture?

and why lyndon johnson? >> guest: oh, well, that picture -- i love that picture because wasserman was really crazy about lbj, and definitely was closer to him than to any other president. and wasserman is right there at his left. and wasserman always said that johnson had offered him the position of secretary of commerce. ultimately, i came to believe that that was not true that he had actually offered it to him. i think there was some suggestion about it, but i don't believe that it was ever offered. but that became part of wasserman's -- it was very important to wasserman, first of all, to have this political influence as a reality, and also to be able to sort of trade on it. i mean, it -- it enhanced his aura, the fact that he was friends with presidents. and the fact that he could say also that johnson had -- was not only someone whom he could get on the phone and whom he saw and was invited to the white

house many times, but that johnson had offered him a cabinet position just elevated him, obviously, even more. c-span: you suggest, i think, that that fact or that suggestion that he was offered the secretary of commerce might have come from jack valenti? >> guest: it was valenti who first said it in a public context and was quoted in "variety" or "hollywood reporter" in 1974. and then after that -- after that, both valenti and wasserman made reference to it many, many, many times. wasserman always said that he had been offered it. he told me he had been -- he told me many times he'd been offered the job. he didn't -- he didn't do it because his wife didn't want to move to washington. and valenti also said that johnson had offered it to him. valenti told me that a number of times. c-span: so why was... >> guest: but they both said it -- (unintelligible) they both said it after lbj had died. c-span: what was the relationship, then, between hollywood and lbj, hollywood and nixon, hollywood -- you go down the list of all -- what

did -- what did hollywood want from the president? and what did these presidential candidates want from hollywood? >> guest: well, the presidential candidates wanted money, not surprisingly. and there was a lot of it to be gotten. and it was not -- i mean, it was money, but it was also, even more than that, i mean, it was -- it was the power -- it was star power. they could have celebrities come to washington and testify, if there were things that they wanted to -- basically, fund-raisers out in hollywood, celebrities there. that was what -- it was an enormous amount of money that was available for them to tap. and for hollywood, naturally, they wanted legislation that would be useful to them and that would make the business more profitable, which -- which they were able to obtain -- most notably, nixon really paved the way for the investment tax credit, which was worth billions

to the industry. and it's not -- i mean, it's little known that nixon was such a friend to hollywood, but he was the -- he was -- except for reagan, he might have been the greatest friend to hollywood, with the possible exception of reagan. reagan -- when the financial interest syndication rules were going to be repealed in the early '80s, rules which restricted tv networks' ability to have ownership of their programming, and therefore were a bonanza for the movie studios, which did have the ownership, those rules were going to be repealed. and basically, wasserman talked to reagan and reagan called off his chairman of the fcc, and the whole move to repeal them was stopped in its tracks. c-span: now, you do quote, i think, mark fowler, who was chairman of the fcc, as saying that didn't happen. >> guest: it's true that fowler denied that that had happened. c-span: because one of your stories is that the white house has control over these agencies like the federal communications commission. >> guest: right.

well, the -- actually, the fcc is supposed to be an independent agency, but i'm told by enough people that i believe that it's true that fowler was talked to by reagan and that he reversed -- he did reverse his position. there's no question that he reversed his position because he had made his position public, and then he reversed it. and i guess he would say he did it on the merits. c-span: here's a picture of walter pidgeon and ronald reagan. do you remember what year this might have been? >> guest: well, i don't. c-span: who was walter pidgeon? >> guest: walter pidgeon was an actor who was very, very successful. maybe many of our watchers remember him. but very successful in the '40s, '50s, '60s. and he was important in this story because when wasserman wanted to go into the tv production business, he was already -- mca was the most powerful agency, by far. they represented, oh, just 80

percent of the big stars. you name them -- bette davis, joan crawford, jimmy stewart, clark gable, on and on. he wanted to go into the tv production business, as well, and he saw -- while the studio heads were afraid of television because they felt that it was just going to threaten their business, wasserman saw that it was an opportunity. but he needed a waiver from the screen actors guild in order to be able to be both a producer and a talent agent. reagan was the president of the screen actors guild at that time, and walter pidgeon was on the board. and there was a critical meeting where the issue came up of whether this waiver would be given to mca or not. and pidgeon made an impassioned speech about how it should be done because it would just give them more jobs, and why shouldn't they do it, and so forth. and pidgeon was somebody whom everybody loved and respected. many, many of the people in the screen actors guild board did. so the resolution passed. but really, i've been told and

people believe, really, it was reagan who engineered it, even though it was pidgeon who gave the speech. c-span: have you gotten any insight, as you did this book, from your husband, who's a former congressman? did he represent hollywood when he was there, mel levine? >> guest: he did. he had a good relationship with lew wasserman, who was an important supporter of his. c-span: but i mean, do you get -- one of the underlying themes in this book is this money, hollywood, washington thing. i mean, is there anything illegal in any of this? >> guest: there's nothing illegal that -- no, there's nothing illegal. i mean... c-span: i mean, did you -- does your cynicism level go up at all when you're doing this book? >> guest: well, i mean, it didn't really surprise me that people who are really massive contributors can get congress to pass legislation that benefits them. i don't think -- i mean, obviously, it's never supposed to be a quid pro quo, but wasserman had such power that

-- i mean, john tunney told me a story about when he was raising money for -- i guess this was in '76... c-span: former senator from california. >> guest: former senator from california. c-span: democrat. >> guest: right. and wasserman had -- he had known wasserman. they had had a good relationship. wasserman had helped him in his first run. he -- wasserman never asked anything of him. they would have breakfast. they would have meals together. wasserman wanted to discuss things like education and different -- you know, domestic policy and never asked anything of him. but tunney got a call from wasserman one day in the fall of '76, saying that he needed him -- tunney was in california for a dinner, which was very important, some big fund-raising dinner in san francisco. wasserman said he needed him, that he had to go back to washington because there was a critical moment in the vote on the investment tax credit. and tunney said, i can't. i have this dinner, and said he wouldn't. and then he thought about it for, i don't know, three minutes, and he called wasserman back and he said, ok, i'm going.

and he turned around and didn't go to his dinner and went back to washington. and as he recounted the story to me later, he said, really, i had no choice. c-span: why? >> guest: because he couldn't -- he couldn't have risked engaging the wrath of wasserman. i mean, wasserman would have not supported him and would have blocked other people from supporting him, and he needed -- he couldn't have -- he couldn't afford to lose hollywood's support in his fund-raising for his campaign. c-span: i wrote a bunch of stuff that you wrote about lew wasserman down. white shirt and dark tie all the time? >> guest: all the time. and he also made it a uniform. there was a dress code at mca. they wanted to -- jules stein started this before wasserman, but they -- they believed that it was important -- they wanted to sort of elevate the image of talent agents and make them seem more professional.

and so -- and jules was, actually, an ophthalmologist by training, so he -- he wanted to sort of upgrade the image. and so it was a strict dress code. in the early days at mca, everybody had to wear a dark suit, white shirt, dark tie. in later years, it -- it eased up slightly. maybe you could wear, you know, a blue shirt. but that was the -- that was the dress code. and also, wasserman always dressed that way, and even if there hadn't been a dress code, his people were so kind of imbued with his stature as a leader that they tended to mimic him, even to the slightest thing. as somebody pointed out to me -- at mca pointed out to me years later, he pointed to his black loafers, and he said, you know, they didn't have to wear black loafers! but lew did, and the rest of them followed suit. c-span: did you see any evidence of his photographic memory?

>> guest: well, i -- i didn't, i have to say, because when i spoke to him -- first time i interviewed him was in '91, and then for this book, i interviewed him over the course of the last -- oh, you know, '98 to the time he died, basically, in 2002. so i didn't see a photographic memory. his memory was still quite good and amazing for someone who was in his, you know, mid to late 80s, but i didn't see the photographic memory. c-span: lots of other stuff. you say you never take him on. >> guest: people never took him on. c-span: yes. >> guest: right. right. that was what i was told again and again, that no one -- no one who worked for him would take him on. they were tough guys. sonny werblin in the mca office in new york was a tough, tough guy, smart. but nobody would take wasserman on. he was apparently just too intimidating, too formidable and too intimidating.

c-span: didn't exercise, didn't exert himself to smile, had a dry sense of humor, little sleep, never committed anything to paper. any of those you want to explain? >> guest: well... c-span: returned all his calls (unintelligible) >> guest: right. he returned all his calls the same day, which was pretty remarkable. he never -- he didn't believe in committing things to paper. that was -- and that was something which -- you know, somebody -- swifty lazar once commented that mca was a lot like the mafia. and in that regard, wasserman was very similar to his friends, sidney korshak and others. those guys always knew that you didn't commit anything to paper. korshak would write on the back of a matchbook cover sometimes, if he really had to remember, you know, some -- some deal he'd just struck. and wasserman believed in that, too. he told me he was very proud

when the government sued mca in 1962 that he only had four folder files in his office. c-span: explosive tirades -- people would -- would pass out. >> guest: that's true. i was told that men would leave his office in tears. apparently, it was unlike anything that -- i spoke to many people who said they had worked for tough bosses or they had seen -- they knew screamers and they knew -- but this was different than that. the sign that it was coming, wasserman would take his watch off. and then it was almost like a kind of a fit, i'm told. his voice would go to a higher pitch than you could imagine, and he would just scream, and grown men, you know, left his office crying, or fainting on occasion, fainting. it's hard to imagine having never seen it.

but i know that has occurred. c-span: you say he never had any dalliances with other women in his life that you could find, and that whenever a woman was in his office, a secretary, he always kept the door open, or had somebody in there with him? >> guest: right. his secretary said to me he didn't want anybody ever to be able to say, you know, lew wasserman chased me around his desk. and he was -- i mean, hollywood, where obviously many people had dalliances, that wasn't for him. he was an ascetic kind of personality, and really, his focus was the business. and i don't think other things -- i mean, as far as i know, that sort of thing really didn't interest him. c-span: but you left us with some unanswered questions on his wife. is her name edie? >> guest: edie. c-span: and suggestion was made in your book that she had dalliances? >> guest: well, i was told this by many, many people, and that

was the reason that i included it in the book, even though one could -- i mean, i hesitated about including it. but the reason i did is because so many people, dozens of people told me that it was so, and that not only was it so, but it was something that was just sort of baffling and endlessly commented on in the hollywood community, because people could not understand how it was that the most powerful man in hollywood who inspired such fear could not or would not control his wife, when he seemed to control virtually everything else that happened in that community.grid we have college bowl games. live from the comcast sportsnet studios, this is geico sportsnite. >> hello and welcome to geico sportsnite on this very busy saturday evening. thanks for being with us.

i'm michael jenkins. you heard the sound bites from flip nape things get worse for the wizards. over the past couple of days, that's exactly what is happening. the gun allegations involving gilbert arenas have taken another turn. source tell espn the argument between arenas and javaris crittenton began during a card game on a return flight from phoenix on december 19. two days later arenas allegedly placed three guns in front of crittenton in the locker room and told him to choose one. however the washington post said the dispute was over who had the biggerun gun. for more, we take you to the game tonight. we find chris. what's the latest on your end? >> the latest is. gilbert arenas is going to play tonight. in fact he's going to start. as it pertains to the to the

investigation it's still in the ongoing process. i haven't been able to confirm in gilbert arenas has spoken to officials about the incident. with my report yesterday from my sources gilbert arenas did not pull a gun out on javaris crittenton. javaris crittenton did not have a gun. both players did have a verbal confrontation but it ended this. there as we try to move on as it pertains to a basketball glamep game, flip was asked how this distraction is going to hurt or help the team? >> there's no question. you'd like as a coach of players being able to totally focus and your game at hand and when you have other things distract, those are things you are concerned about. from my standpoint as i told our players, we get judged as far as what we do on the court.

so, i'm doing as best we can. we have two hard intense practices and i'm hope for example carry over. we may not see drastic changes in 24 or 48 hours but if we continue doing what we are doing, we will see changes in the next seven days. >> we are awaiting a statement from mrs. poland with a couple of things going on with the wizards. gilbert arenas is in the starting lineup. flip saunders talking about change the culture. gilbert arenas, caron butler will play at the two. antawn jamison and brendan haywood will start at the center position. flip talked about a total mindset change. they have gone through the last two days working on the

defensive end. the san antonio spurs is a staple of that. what they allow and what teams are scoring. it's impressive on the defensive end. some of the numbers, 11th in the nba and giving up field goal percentage at 45%. the wizards are at 10th. they do a pretty good job there. but the totality of the spurs' defense, opponents 37 which ranked number one in the nba. the wizards are 25th in that department. michael, that's the story here at the verizon center. there is a lot of roll and national media here as and you can expect for those distraction. >> if both parties end up being found guilty and you are reporting no guns, what would the league ramifications if this did take place.

>> reporter: gilbert arenas did have guns. he has confirmed that. that is where the problem really lice. all the other information that that's being leaked out now, no one can confirm that because the people in the room have not been investigated. but gilbert arenas having the guns in the lock ser a no, no. the commissioner is taking this seriously. although he has not spoken on the matter, he is waiting for the investigation. but expect there to be some type of fine or suspension as for the guns in gilbert arenas' locker. >> is there an issue with his contract being invalid if it turns out to be true? >> that's definitely a possible and the wizards could be identitiesed to terminate his contract. but it needs to take its

course. >> thank you. there is some basketball to be played tonight and we'll bring you this evening's game right here on comcast sportsnet in high definition. that is next right after geico sportsnite. hockey fans, welcome to geico sportsnite. for those who have been watching the capitals, lose together to kings 2-1. i'm michael jenkins, let's continue the show. we start better game many were just watching. the caps taking on the l.a. kings in california. capitals with back-to-back losses looking to turn things around. neuvirth comes up huge. late in the 1st period the kings on the third power play of the period. ryan smith punches home the

rebound. the kings up 1-0. the capitals outscored in the last three games. nicklas backstrom takes a nasty shot from matt green. his head hits the glass very hard and he would exit the game soon after this. mike green alaser pass. we are tied up at 1. still in the second, alex semin got us robbed not once but twice. and later we see semin getting robbed by quick not once but twice. the kings go on to beat the capitals today. a little problem with the highlight. 2-1, the final. more on the caps later in the show and bruce boudreau with postgame thoughts. keep it here on comcast sportsnet.

we can can expect plenty of changes for the redskins when the season is over and jim zorn could be one of them. new year's day might be over but the bowl season continues. we have college football to talk about as well. we are only 20 minutes away from the wizards taking the court against the san antonio spurs. we'll bring it to you on comcast sportsnet in high definition. stay with us. host: could switching to geico really save you

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welcome back. the international bowl, south florida and northern illinois. 3rd quarter, south florida nursing a 6-3 lead. daniel says on the run. the first touchdown of the

game. 46-yard variety. 1st play of the 1st quarter. same score. daniels play action to love again. it's now 20-3, south florida. insurance, call your local carrier, mike ford who takes the handoff and races in from 24 yards away. south florida wins 27-3. the papa johns.com bowl. 1st quarter no score. frasier to moore. how about that fair catch? 7-0 huskies. another look at it. the one-handed grab. quite simply amazing. unbelievable. uconn would add two more field goals. andre' dixon from 10 yards away. 126 yards rurke are the.

uconn wins moving to 3 and 1 in bowl game. cotton bowl at the cowboy's stadium. no score until the rebels give it to mccluster. a second gear and third gear and fourth gear. 86 yards later 7-0. the real story, turnovers. 12 of them. 5 by ole miss and 7. ole miss up 7. hubert antyam coughs up the football. trahan taking to the house. the rebels win. if i can change and you can change, then everybody can change. the famous groat rocky balboa

in rocky iv. who knew it would apply to the redskins. change is definitely coming. >> reporter: a long and strange season it's been. it ends on the west coast and with 4 quarters of football left to be played the only thing certain is is the uncertainty around redskins park. >> it's been a long year. this is definitely a year that's going to stick with all of us as long as we place. going through everything we went through this year, i think it can help you in a way knowing this is something you don't want to experience season. >> there's going to changes. changes always in the league. it's there but not for long. you can't worry about whether you are going to be here.

you have to play. >> everybody's job is in jeopardy. i told everybody, like sherm told us we are interviewing. put some good stuff on sale. >> i think this crew has done with us or the coaching staff, i hope they are building to have a better future than we had in the past. >> reporter: the chargers come in riding high. rivers has the highest quarterback rating and san diego clink a bye, how much will they see of him or the starters remains to be season. >> when it comes to the offense, first and 2nd down has been great. they probably be third and 4 and third and 5. when he's in there with the protection, 5 or 6 in the box. the receivers and keep the clock rolling. >> we are preparing to face the

starters. whether it's a quarter, one play or if they don't get on the field at all. we have to go out and put something good on the field. >> regardless of who they put out there you have to go to work. if they line up in front of you you have to give them the business because if you don't they will. >> thank you. join chick hernandez tomorrow afternoon for the kickoff. look at jim zorn and some of the things that make him so unique and we examine many of the off-season needs for the burgundy and gold. the raiders have wins against top tier teams usually because of the running team. a rotation of fargus and bush and mcfadden brings speed and power and that has gotten the attention of the ravens' defensive new year's day when

you look at them, i don't know if it gives us an advantage, but i think the thing that gives them a disadvantage is how they make the turnovers and things like that. they love to keep the offense surrounded by the run game. our job is not to let them get the run game started. they are effective in their. >> watching film today and yesterday on the offense, really fast running backs. big lineman that can push you around. we have to stop the run because that's what they like to do and make them a one dimensional team. yahoo sports reports bryan billick will interview next week. he has worked as a color comitate for fox.

still to come, c.a.a. action between old old and george mason is on the way. up next the spurs and wizards in high definition. for those watching on comcast sportsnet plus. after this game stick around for wizards postgame and at 10:00, lisa hillary joins me on geico sportsnite.

welcome back. college basketball now. do not sleep on the c.a.a.

season. six teams have at least seven wins and that includes old dominion and george mason meeting this afternoon. trying to hand the patriots their first conference loss. mason on the run. that would be a theme. the off balance goes. up 3 at the back. nice passing sets up mike morrison for the easy dunk. mason up 4. morrison not done as he finishes the alley-oop. he drops 15 points and 5 boards on the day. the patriots start pulling away. pearson good defense the steal and the slam. he leads all scores with 17. part of a george mason run. morrison gets behind the defense after a missed shot and it is another throw down.

mason runs 71-55. here's jim. >> coach, you told me before the game the biggest question mark about your team and you used the word the ability to sustain. sustain intensity and sustain poise. you guys certainly did that today. >> we really did glen. i'm proud of the kids. had an awful performance on wednesday night and had to take thursday off because of ncaa rules. we had one day to prepare. this is about defense and toughness and rebounding the basketball. we rebounded and defending. >> it seemed to me that coming into this game your goal was to match the intensity of old dominion but it looked like old dominion had to flip the switch and match the intensity of your team. >> well, we have a great support group at the patriot center. our student body and alumni and fans. they came and cheered cheered us on and our student prep

band. we have an exciting environment and i think our guys got pumped up and was able to is it not effort. we have northeastern and larry sanders right here on comcast sportsnet on monday night. the washington capitals not now lost three straight games after falling to the kings this afternoon. we head back to los angeles and check in. >> questions will be swirling around now that they have lost the third straight game in relation. the biggest question may relate to nicklas backstrom who was lost to an injury. >> he played less than 9 minutes against the l.a. kings. we think he was hurt getting hit twice by matt green and that put the game plan out the window. the caps have practiced in los angeles putting together new line combinations and new lines

to jump-start the secondary scoring. that didn't hold true with the early nicklas backstrom. >> reporter: this is a contest between interconference rivals. green had his game face on. >> he hit him from the get-go. he was physical against semins when the rest of the kings. he drew penalties. scored a slapshot. fourth power play. mike green all over the score sheet. >> 30 plus minutes today. he was trying to outdo drew doughty. he picked up one of the spots on team canada over like. >> whenever these teams square up, you know the l.a. kings are going to do their best to keep alex to the outside. how did they fare? >> they fared well. ovechkin versus drew doughty. he was taking some lumps. he was giving some lumps.

he was held in check by one king but often 2 and 3 kings. alex ovechkin a tough game against the los angeles kings in l.a. they held them very well close to the net. a lot of shots picked up by jonathan. the caps popped up a shorty. that usually doomsday a team and the eventual game-winner. alex ovechkin and the caps lost three straight. >> 2009 did not end up well in relation. 2010 not off to a good start and they try to change that tuesday against montreal. >> we hope so. up next, we'll hear from the head coach of the capitals. maryland trys to rebound from its loss to william & mary. the terps at greensboro at 1:00 right here on comcast

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welcome home, man. welcome back the capitals looking to end a losing streak. they get 8 shorthanded goal. what is your game winner. bruce boudreau on that goal after the game. >> i think everybody just turned away and, i have to look at it on the replay. it looked way too easy.

it looked like alex let up on the hit and looked like everybody thought there was a whistle or gave occupy that play. but that should never happen. >> more hockey. pens in tams taking on the bolts. warmer in florida this time of year. lightning moving the puck around and it finds its way to the veteran. lightning on top 1-0. 2nd period tied at one. tons of traffic around the net. that's when things happen like this. puts is in. 2-1. lightning. steve finds his teammate mcteas. his shot no good but downey there. the light thing win lightning win. gilbert arenas will start tonight as the wizards host the

spurs. chris main street according to his source gilbert did not pull a gun on javaris crittenton back on -- i'm michael jenkins. it's time for basketball. we take to you verizon center as the wizards host the san antonio spurs. the papa johns opening tip-off next on comcast sportsnet. enjoy the game. captions by caption colorado, ll (800) 775-7838 email: comments@captcolo.com